


it has begun

by greekdemigod



Series: Roisa Fic Week Summer 2017 [3]
Category: Jane the Virgin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, F/F, Roisa Fic Week Summer 2017
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-02 00:38:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11498148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greekdemigod/pseuds/greekdemigod
Summary: She had never particularly wanted to go to space, but if the Deep Space Colony Program was the only way for her to achieve her aspirations of becoming a medical professional then she would gladly let herself be hurtled into deep space.[Space + post-apocalyptic.]





	it has begun

**Author's Note:**

> So this has been quite a messy undertaking. Originally meant to be just for Day 3, Space, I ended up combining it with Day 4 and writing a lot more for it than I originally planned.  
> This universe is entirely of my own creation and inspiration, not based on anything (as far as I'm aware, I might have subconsciously based it on things I've consumed in the past, that seems to be a thing that happens).  
> Would love to know what you think of it!

A few months ago, Luisa Alver had been nothing. A street rat with no money to her name, estranged from her family, not even a high school degree to back her up. She had looked the part, too, with the side of her head shaven, locks of her brunette hair dyed a vibrant purple, her jeans sporting more holes than fabric. She had shown up at the compound wearing a muscle tank top that had shown bits of her bra and more than a few bits of intricate tattoos, yet they had taken her seriously.

They had given her a registration form and brochures to take with her and a deadline to have it all filled out by, and so she had. She had poured over the brochures, to make sure there really was nothing that could disqualify her before she even began this adventure, but there didn’t seem to be anything.

Then, with all her concentration and brain power mustered, she had filled out every single question as honestly and as best she could. It had featured gnawing on the end of her pencil whenever she wasn’t writing, a healthy dose of sighing, lots of letting her head drop on her hand, and some staring out of the window. There had been lots of coffee involved to get her through the hours, and a restless night after.

But she had done it.

She had never particularly _wanted_ to go to space, but if the _Deep Space Colony Program_ was the only way for her to achieve her aspirations of becoming a medical professional then she would gladly let herself be hurtled into deep space.

To her entire surprise, she had gotten a call back. And another after the preliminary physical tests. And then a final one, to let her know that she was accepted into the preparation program that would see her both in rigorous military training and finally in possession of a high school degree.

At that point, she had realized that all of this was _real_ , that NASA was truly looking to build a colony somewhere beyond Mars, and that they saw something in her. And also, that it wasn’t a trap, meant to get rid of all society’s outcasts and scum, since they put too much time and resources into testing everyone that applied and getting them ready if they were deemed satisfactory, which seemed a low threshold if they’d accepted her.

Those weeks passed fast, mostly because Luisa was exhausted at the end of every day and could do no more than collapse in bed. Mornings of laboring over text books and afternoons of sweating outside on the obstacle course blurred together until even sleeping came easy, and dreamlessly for the first time in years.

Not many of her starting class lasted the full six weeks. Even those who could forego the daily lessons and only had to deal with training struggled and gave up. But not Luisa. Luisa kept her goals in mind and bit through all the hard parts until they became easy parts, through aching muscles until they became hard and defined. She’d never had abs before, but discovered she quite liked having them.

Girls liked them on her, too.

Though taught to be disciplined and have self-control, Luisa found that when it came to girls she really couldn’t be either, but her supervising officer seemed to have gotten a soft spot for her and so let her get away with it.

Or maybe, she thinks in hindsight, they didn’t mind since it was all of a temporary nature. Thoughts like that plague her, now that she’s here. Did they truly pick her because of her potential? Or because she had no ties to anyone on Earth any longer, no real reason to stick around, and _everything_ to gain from leaving?

Because here she is now. On _Eden_ , the gigantic space station that is some fifty million miles away from Earth. It’s... honestly, it’s beautiful, and something Luisa didn’t expect at all. If there wasn’t so much glass allowing them a view of wide open space all around them, this would almost look like a regular city.

A city with lots of new technology and air from oxygen generators and regulated gravity, but a regular city nonetheless. And it really has something about it.

She doesn’t regret coming here. She doesn’t regret it at all.

Luisa stops walking down memory lane and instead walks down the big avenue that bisects the whole city. Lamps are set into the tiles every few steps, illuminating the way ahead as well as the benches and floral beds lining it. Most buildings facing onto the avenue are of great importance; the hospital where she has just started her medical training is one of them.

Toying with the lanyard and badge that officially proclaim her a med student, she wonders what today will bring. Already her days have been chock-full of learning; doctor Maybelle Gold, the fully-licensed, Harvard-educated doctor that has taken her under her wing, doesn’t believe in all books and no play.

It has been interesting to follow her on her rounds, learn from watching first-hand, and be given chapters to pour over in preparation for _actual_ cases. She hasn’t gotten to actually _do_ much yet, understandably, but she already feels useful.

A few months of this and she’ll be ready to start assisting, Gold has promised her. And then a few years of internship and residency should make her entirely capable of being a doctor of her own right.

She is _so_ excited.

It took two weeks of being at _Eden_ before she could get started and those were the slowest, most torturous weeks of her whole existence, even including the terrible weeks when her mother started wasting away visibly because of her kidney cancer, or the first week of trying to survive after her father disowned her and kicked her out.

She was so young for the former that she doesn’t remember much more than a vague impression and a smell, and she refuses the latter to hold any influence on her any longer.

But those two weeks—man, she was going _crazy_ with waiting. Even with as overstimulating as this new home is, with so many new things to offer and see and try, the first thing she wanted to do when she got off the spaceship was get started.

That feeling didn’t abate in the days after, just grow stronger, until she thought she might cry when Gold reached out to her and told her to stop by the hospital at her earliest convenience—which was five minutes later, conveniently.

When she arrives, she is just in time to catch mayor Rogelio de la Vega leave with his usual flourishes and smiles. Although everyone knows he’s mostly a figurehead for the team back on Earth really running the show, Luisa quite likes him. He _cares_ , deeply, about these people and this new settlement and seems most invested of all in the success of it.

Rogelio is a good man.

She smiles at him, tells him she’s doing amazing when he asks, then tells him she really has to get going. Life waits on no doctor to get working, and Gold doesn’t either.

While washing her hands, Luisa notices in the mirror that the purple streaks in her hair have grown feint. She dyed it a final time before setting out, extra strong to last, but she knew it couldn’t last forever---and they refused to let her bring along enough to keep it purple indefinitely.

Maybe it’s for the better. She is growing up, after all. About time she starts showing some maturity. She’ll miss it though.

Dressed in a fresh set of dark blue cotton shirt and trousers, with her hair tied up in a high ponytail, Luisa finally gets started on her day properly. Automatic doors slide open after she offers her badge to the censor, and then she’s moving down air-conditioned hallways deeper into the hospital.

Gold is sipping from a glass of water in the break room, her feet propped up on another chair, when Luisa finds her. “Ah, Luisa, there you are. Have I got good news for you. We finally figured out what’s wrong with Michael.”

Luisa quirks her eyebrows. Michael has been taking up one of their beds for a few days now. Luisa didn’t mind terribly, since he brings good company — no less than three women, lucky guy — but none of the doctors seemed to be able to figure out quite what he was ailing from.

“It seems to be some kind of space sickness we haven’t encountered before. Wonderful!”

Gold is up on her feet quickly after that, briefing Luisa on her findings and first thoughts, while they make their way over to Michael’s room. He looks paler than ever, swaddled in his blankets, with a sheen of fever sweat on his forehead. But he’s always smiling.

She likes that about him almost as much as she likes him for giving Rose a reason to stick around.

They’re Rangers. Luisa isn’t fully privy to what their job entails, but she _does_ know that they don’t usually spend a lot of time at _Eden_ itself. They’re pilots of spaceships and pods, but for which reason they’re constantly out there? She could make a few guesses, but that’s all they would be.

Rose has been tight-lipped about that whenever Luisa asks, but their talks have been great otherwise. Rose _is_ pretty great, she has to admit. And way too beautiful, even rumpled-looking after spending the night in a chair by Michael’s bedside as she is now.

“We’d like to get you on our surgery table, Michael. Get in there and have a look around.”

That’s Gold—ever straight to the point. Rose, Susanna, and Nadine all look relieved that at least finally _something_ is going to be done, going to be tried. Watching their friend stuck in a bed, ill, with no idea what or why... that must have been terrible.

“There will be no guarantees that we will find it, but it seems likely. You’ll be under for about two hours, with minimal risks, although there are of course some. Do you want me to go over them for you?”

“Yes, please,” he nods, and so Gold steps closer to him and explains calmly all the ways in which even such a small procedure could go wrong. Luisa inches closer to where Rose is sitting and squeezes her shoulder in what she hopes is a comforting gesture.

“Okay, let’s do it, Doc,” Michael finally says.

Luisa feels only a little guilty for being excited about it.

* * *

For decades, people will remember where they were that fateful day the world ended. Luisa was scrubbing out after a successful endoscopic procedure that caught the root of a space sickness that would become prevalent among the people of _Eden_ , one named after Maybelle Gold, the doctor that both figured out the sickness and its cure within weeks.

Luisa will always remember how she was allowed to go tell Michael’s friends the good news, but instead found them fearfully looking at the television.

The dedicated channel broadcasting news from Earth had frozen on one last image, a nuclear missile bracing for impact on what had, before, been known as North-America.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Chapter 2 should be up at the latest tomorrow!


End file.
